


An Unfortunate Misunderstanding

by BlackMageEljin



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Canon Typical Crack, Comedy of Errors, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Post canon, its just cute shenanigans for the most part
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMageEljin/pseuds/BlackMageEljin
Summary: Aladdin has noticed Hakuryuu's rukh turning pink again and makes an unfortunate assumption. More unfortunately, the rumor makes its way to Judar. At least it got sorted out... eventually.
Relationships: Judal | Judar/Ren Hakuryuu, Morgiana/Alibaba Saluja
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	An Unfortunate Misunderstanding

**Author's Note:**

> *slides into the magi fandom five years late with starbucks* Wrote this sort of as a warp up to reintroduce myself to the series. I have no idea where this came from, but it was fun XD Enjoy!

"I'm starting to get worried," Aladdin began.

"Worried? About what?" Kougyoku asked, setting her tea down carefully on the table.

The two old friends met and talked over snacks and tea like this when they could. This time in particular, quite a few people were all in Rakushou at the same time despite all their busy schedules, and it was because of that Kougyoku immediately worried it was something serious.

"Well it's just… meeting up with everyone recently, I've noticed Hakuryuu's rukh turning pink a lot lately…"

Needless to say this was not the political strife the empress was expecting. She relaxed considerably.

"Aww, my dear brother has a crush? I know he can be awkward but I'm sure he'll be just fine!" Then a sly look covered her face and she leaned in for proper gossip. "Soooo, who's the lucky lady?"

"That's the problem! I thought he came to terms with his unrequited love a long time ago, but every time I see the rukh turn pink Morg's involved, you know!"

Kougyoku leaned back again, shocked. "But Morgiana is married now! Just what is he thinking!"

"I know!" Aladdin agreed. "And if Alibaba finds out…"

Both imagined the same thing, an image of an enraged, jealous Alibaba storming off and starting a fight with his 'romantic rival'.

Aladdin sighed. "I don't want them to fight again. They're such good friends now, like before…"

Kougyoku nodded. "And that's no way to treat Morgiana, she's not a prize to be fought over and won… Wouldn't she get mad at them too?"

The image of Alibaba and Hakuryuu fighting in their minds was suddenly amended, now with a frustrated Morgiana punching them both so hard they went flying all the way to other countries before storming off in a dramatic fashion, along with saying something ridiculous and exaggerated along the lines of  _ 'I see what kind of man you really are Alibaba, I'll never forgive you.' _

It was ludicrous, but both nodded as though this was the obvious singular possible outcome.

"We have to do something," Aladdin declared sagely.

"First, are you absolutely sure it's Morgiana? Maybe it was a coincidence- there could have been someone else there, or maybe something made him think of someone else while he was talking to them!" Kougyoku suggested optimistically.

Aladdin didn't look as hopeful, but agreed. "Yeah, we should check one more time, to be absolutely sure."

And thus began the investigation to prevent the Great Love Triangle Incident.

\--

With Kougyoku's years of sneaking expertise, eavesdropping on their targets was easy, the empress and former Magi peering at the group from behind a pillar. Kougyoku held up a strange eyeglass- a recent magic tool that allowed a non-magician to see the rukh.

On the other side of the room, 3 old friends were having a normal conversation. So far, the rukh looked perfectly normal- not overly excited and the usual white color with the occasional exception of one or two black rukh drifting Hakuryuu's way.

"Your new patent sounds really impressive, Alibaba," Hakuryuu praised.

"Right!" Alibaba agreed with a bright grin. "Just one more month in production and my company sales will skyrocket so much I'll be able to open a whole branch in Heliohapt!"

"Sharkaan is excited too," Morgiana added.

From behind the pillar Kougyoku whined. "This is so boring- see Aladdin, you didn't have anything to worry about at all."

Aladdin didn't look sure, but then, this was a good thing right? "Maybe you're right…"

Just as they were going to give up, Morgiana turned to Hakuryuu and asked, "What are your plans, Hakuryuu?"

Hakuryuu blinked, seemingly surprised by the question. Then, before he could even answer his rukh slowly but surely took on a pink hue- even the few black ones.

"See!" Aladdin whispered loudly.

"Oh, but, maybe what she asked made him think of plans with someone else…?" But even to Kougyoku it sounded like a lame excuse.

"I've been traveling a lot to help with the rebuild effort. Even if things are much better than before, there's still work to be done."

Aladdin and Kougyoku's expressions both went flat. That definitely didn't sound like he was thinking of something romantic with someone else…

Alibaba slung an arm around Hakuryuu's shoulder. "Man! You're always so serious! You have to visit more often so we can be sure you actually take a break every now and again. And you need to find yourself a girlfriend!"

Hakuryuu blushed himself along with the rukh this time. He glanced nervously at Morgiana and then up at the ceiling as he tried to compose himself. "But if I was as carefree as Alibaba there would be no towns for him to trade in…" he finally teased back, giving him the same coy expression he had years ago when asked if he'd learned how to djinn equip.

"Wha- hey!"

And once again behind the pillar, Kougyoku was now shaking with rage. "I- I can't believe how shameless! He looked right at her!"

Aladdin looked particularly disheartened. "We have to figure out what to do next!"

And so began phase two of planning for the Great Love Triangle Incident.

\--

After some discussion, Kougyoku and Aladdin had decided to try and confront Hakuryuu about the issue directly. The problem was that all day he didn't seem to be alone. They couldn't bother him while he was talking with Alibaba and Morgiana without it being suspicious, and the rest of the time he was with, well…

Judar.

And trying to talk to him while they were together went a little something like this:

"Hi Hakuryuu, Judar! Do you think I could borrow Hakuryuu for a moment, I wanted to talk to him about something," Aladdin greeted cheerily.

Judar frowned. "No. He's mine to spend time with now, buzz off!"

Hakuryuu looked apologetic. "Sorry, Aladdin. I did make him a promise." And before anything else could be said on the matter Judar had stuck his tongue out at him and dragged Hakuryuu down the street and around the corner.

"...Judar will probably attack us if we try to follow them now…" Kougyoku pointed out sadly.

"Yeah…" Aladdin agreed dejectedly. "But, you know, maybe I was just seeing things, but it looked like Hakuryuu's rukh turned pink again just now…?"

Kougyoku looked hopeful. "Really? Maybe it's just a fluke! He does get embarrassed easily."

"That's true…" Aladdin agreed, then finally nodded with a much brighter smile. "We'll talk to him later. Maybe it really is just a misunderstanding! Hakuryuu is our good friend, we should have more faith in him."

\--

The rest of the day was peaceful, if not busy with  _ real _ responsibilities. Kougyoku was making her way back to her room late after a long day when she heard voices. Instinctively, she jumped behind a pillar and crept closer. Only to find…

Morgiana and Hakuryuu.

Just the two of them, alone, in the courtyard in the middle of the night? There was no way it wasn't something scandalous! This was worse than Aladdin had thought!

Hakuryuu gave something to Morgiana. "Please, Morgiana. It would mean so much to me..."

And then, even worse, Morgiana accepted it with a smile. "Of course, if it's for Hakuryuu I'd be happy to."

Hakuryuu seemed elated, taking her free hand in both of his. "Thank you, Morgiana! I-"

"HOW  _ DARE YOU _ !" interrupted the booming voice of one Kou Empress. Hakuryuu turned to face her with a look of fear, and Morgiana, as always, appeared unfazed, if not mildly surprised.

"Kougyoku! Please, be quiet- he'll hear-"

"OH HE'LL HEAR ABOUT IT ALRIGHT!"

"But-"

And before any more protests could be made she ran off, Hakuryuu slumping over in defeat.

Morgiana frowned, looking down at the small box in her hand. "But… if she tells Judar, the surprise will be ruined…"

"I wonder how she found out about him…? I knew it was unconventional, but I didn't think she of all people would be so angry about it…" Hakuryuu mused sadly.

Morgiana patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Cheer up, you and Judar can always move to Reim." 

This did not actually reassure him at all.

\--

As Kougyoku stormed through the halls, her anger quickly spun into panic. She ran to Aladdin's room, startling him out of his sleep as she burst through the doors.

"Kougyoku, what happened!?"

"Oh Aladdin! It's more awful than we thought! Hakuryuu and Morgiana, they- they're having an affair!"

"What!? Morg would never do that!"

"But!" Kougyoku blubbered, "I just, I saw them meeting in secret! In the courtyard in the middle of the night! Hakuryuu even gave her some gift! Exchanging sweet words like lovers!" She bawled, planting her face in Aladdin's sheets. "Poor Alibaba! How could they!"

Aladdin looked disheartened to say the least. He rested a comforting hand on Kougyoku's shoulder. "We'll figure this out. Something doesn't seem right. I'll try talking to them in the morning. Do you… think you could hold off on telling Alibaba until we have their side of things in full?"

Kougyoku sniffed. "Y-yeah…"

\--

The next day, Kougyoku was going about her duties with a depressed air about her. She knew she promised Aladdin to let him look into things first, but it was such a terrible secret to bear…

"What the hell's got your panties in a twist all of a sudden, old hag?"

Judar now floated besides her as she walked. It was a fairly common thing in the palace, for Judar to just be there suddenly and gone the next.

Kougyoku looked up at Judar with hope before biting her lip. They had shared more than a bit of gossip back in the old days- and while she had promised not to tell Alibaba, it would be okay if she confided in Judar, right?

"Oh Judar! Something terrible happened!"

Judar sat up a bit from his floating lounge. "Haa? really?"

"Alibaba will be heartbroken!"

That got his attention. Probably for the wrong reasons, but it got it. "Ha! Really? Did muscle girl finally realise she could do better than that loser?" While the words were similar to his first reaction, the tone was completely different.

And the way Kougyoku teared up and sniffed made him realize he'd hit the nail on the head. 

"Woah! Wait, seriously?? Did she just dump his ass or did she run off with someone else?" And for as much as he had been amused at Alibaba's apparent suffering, he was honestly shocked what had basically been the obnoxious power couple of their ragtag group had actually ended.

"I saw her having a secret meeting last night!" Kougyoku continued to fish. This was why Judar was great to gossip with- even if he was calloused about it, he would usually be interested enough to listen closely.

"No fucking way! With who!?" By this point Judar had sat up completely in the air, leaning close and listening intently. 

"Hakuryuu!"

There was a long pause. Suddenly, the air became much heavier.

"... _ What? _ "

"It was just awful! He gave her a gift and everything! It sounded like it had been going on for a while now, and…!"

As Kougyoku spoke, the aura around Judar only intensified. His fist clenched tightly, and then finally he snapped.

" **_I'm going to fucking kill him!_ ** "

And just like that he was gone, flying off presumably to do exactly what he said.

"Judar wait!" Kougyoku called, but it was pointless.

\--

On the other side of the palace, in the courtyard, Morgiana and Hakuryuu were meeting again.

"I know it might not be a surprise anymore, but I was able to have it finished. You can still give it to him, right?" Morgiana handed the box back to Hakuryuu.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Thank you, Mor-"

But before he could finish, Morgiana had dove at him and dragged him halfway across the yard, just barely avoiding a barrage of icicles crashing into the ground.

" _ You! _ "

Looking up, Judar was floating above them in a rage.

"Judar! What are you-"

"How  _ dare  _ you!"

Morgiana scooped Hakuryuu up and dodged the next attack. Words were not the easiest at the moment.

But they were for Judar. "After  _ everything  _ we've been through!"

"What are you talking about!" Hakuryuu shouted once he got his bearings over Morgiana's shoulder.

"Don't play dumb with me, draped in the arms of your  _ whore _ !" Another barrage fired and then artfully dodged.

"Wh-what!?" Well, at least that explained why Judar was mad. "Where the hell did you get a crazy idea like that!"

"Don't fuck with me! This was the real reason you wanted to keep our relationship a secret wasn't it! You fucking  _ bastard _ !"

This time it was one insanely big ice crystal. Morgiana dropped Hakuryuu on the ground and met the projectile in the air, shattering it with her legs before it could impact.

Judar slowly descended to the ground. He was a normal magician now after all, magoi was a finite resource that needed to be rationed. Also, it would be harder to miss if he was firing point blank.

Hakuryuu had just barely managed to sit up before he saw Judar stalking towards him through the settling dust and debris of the magic attacks. It was a terrifying sight, Hakuryuu had truly never seen him that angry. And that was…

"I have done  _ everything _ for you. I fought for  _ years _ to get back to you, and  _ this- THIS _ is how you fucking treat me." His voice was low, almost trembling, and Hakuryuu could have sworn he saw tears in his eyes. 

" _ You- _ " But before Judar could continue, the sound and feel of something strange under his foot distracted him. He looked down, and to his surprise saw something  _ metal _ next to the now torn open box Morgiana had been passing on.

It was a comb.

"What the hell?" Judar was just distracted enough to lean down and pick it up. For some reason it had the 8 pointed star of a metal vessel, even though they didn't exist in this world anymore. It was the sort of ornamental comb you would find in Kou, something that could be used for brushing or fixed into your hair as decoration. Along the back edge and around the star were even more carved details, things that looked skeletal or in the shape of the wings of a bat...

Hakuryuu explained, "The circle is just an engraving, but… the metal is from what was left of Belial's metal vessel- my old armor. Because that was the dungeon we captured together…" Despite the fact that he should probably still be worried about his safety, Hakuryuu was still just sitting on the rubble and looking off to the side in embarrassment.

"!! W-wha… but…" And before Judar could say more, Morgiana finally reappeared from the dust screen.

"Hakuryuu was trying to surprise you for your anniversary, so he asked me to make errands to the metal worker so you wouldn't notice."

Judar looked from Morgiana to Hakuryuu in utter shock. Now that he had calmed down, he did recall Morgiana was one of the few people Hakuryuu had told about them…

"You… you…" And then Judar snapped again, but this time in a good way. " **_You stupid sentimental bastard!_ ** "

He clutched the comb to his chest, glaring at nothing in particular as he tried to subtly wipe the tears from his eyes. "Fuck that stupid old hag! How  _ dare _ she say such awful things about you! Who the  _ fuck  _ does she think she is!"

And while Judar was, well, not apologizing, but expressing remorse for his outburst in the way that he did, Hakuryuu finally rose and closed the distance between them.

"I'm glad you like it."

" _ Of course I like it you fucking idiot! _ "

Hakuryuu just laughed, something that was short and awkward and filled with relief and affection.

"Fuck whatever you were planning on doing today you're brushing my hair now!" Judar declared. Hakuryuu smiled.

"Okay."

Morgiana finally joined them. She was happy for them, but as the moment passed she wondered out loud, "So Kougyoku told you?"

Hakuryuu looked to Morgiana and put the pieces together quickly. "Ah… I thought she had heard us talking about you, Judar, and stormed off because she was mad about that, but… she must have really gotten the wrong impression. I'm sorry, I should have gone after her…"

"Don't be fucking sorry! You didn't do anything! Fuck that nosey judgemental bitch for not minding her own god damn business and telling me all that crazy bullshit!"

Translation: no Hakuryuu, I'm sorry, you shouldn't be the one to apologize when I got mad at you over such a foolish assumption.

At least, that's what Hakuryuu heard.

Unfortunately, just as things were calming down, one Alibaba arrived.

"Morgianaaaaaaa! Say it's not true! You're not really leaving me for that crybaby!" He was already half in tears.

Judar scoffed. "Like Hakuryuu has such poor taste he'd run off with such a strange woman."

"How dare you call my cute Morgiana strange!" Alibaba shouted. Nevermind the fact that the worst Judar had called her was 'strange' was basically endearment from him.

"How dare  _ you _ call Hakuryuu a crybaby! Especially when you come in here sniffling like that!" Judar snapped back.

"Judar, it's alright…"

"Alibaba, there's been a misunderstanding!"

The two decidedly more mature other halves spoke at the same time, trying to calm down the ones arguing with little avail.

"If there's not something going on then why is Judar being so mean!" Nevermind questioning Judar's temperament was like asking why water was wet.

"I'm not gonna let this punk ass half dead unicorn bitch talk to you like that!" Nevermind Judar himself had also technically died once.

Hakuryuu took a deep breath. This wasn't exactly how he had expected any of this to go, but the cat was pretty much already out of the bag, so… 

"Just go on and tell him."

Judar's disposition changed instantly. He perked up, a bright yet surprised smile on his face. "Wait, really?" he asked excitedly, clutching the comb that was still held to his chest even tighter. When Hakuryuu nodded he spun on his heel and proudly boasted, "I told you, Hakuryuu has way better taste. Not to mention he's at least 50 times the lover you'll ever be- and here's the proof." Judar held up the metal comb proudly. 

Alibaba, of course, not knowing what the comb was or the story behind it, was just confused. "What does that have to do with anything!"

Morgiana explained. "I was helping Hakuryuu have that made so it could be a surprise gift. Kougyoku saw us and jumped to conclusions."

Alibaba's eyes became big as everything seemed to click into place. "S-so, you're not leaving me…?" Morgiana shook her head rapidly in the way she did and Alibaba hugged her while sobbing. "Mogianaaaaa!"

"And he called you a crybaby…" Judar muttered, being elbowed by Hakuryuu a moment after.

Alibaba eventually regained his composure. Now that that was all out of his system he turned to Hakuryuu with a bright expression and asked. "So! Who's the lucky girl?"

For a moment crickets could be heard.

" _ Are you fucking serious!? _ " Judar's rage was fairly sympathetic for a change.

Alibaba reared back a bit at what was to him a very sudden outburst. "Wh-what? Did I miss her name or something?"

"How are you this fucking dense!? I basically already told you when we were stuck on that stupid old dragon!"

"Wait, really?" Alibaba asked a bit nervously. His eyes trailed up as he tried to recall it. Judar did pretty much talk about nothing but Hakuryuu back then… but in the end he really couldn't remember any mention of a woman…

He held up one of his hands in a surrendering pose while the other rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry! It was a long time ago, I really don't remember. Ahaha…"

Judar looked at Alibaba like he was the stupidest being on the planet- no, in  _ every dimension.  _ He must have been, Judar had definitely let some pretty sappy shit slip while bored out of his skull for 2 years…

"You really think  _ my king  _ would settle for some random bitch? I'm the  _ only one _ who actually understands him!"

"If that's the case then why would you expect me to know who you're talking about?!" Alibaba snapped back, the point going over his head again.

Judar grit his teeth. " _ Are you fucking _ -"

But Judar's words died in his mouth when he felt Hakuryuu's hand on his shoulder. He looked back at him questioningly, but before he could say anything Hakuryuu's other hand came to rest on his cheek.

And then he kissed him.

This, of course, caused Judar to forget about any arguments for the time being. He leaned in happily and draped his arms around Hakuryuu's shoulders, the black rukh buzzing around him the same way a dog's tail would wag, not that anyone besides him could see that. It was common for the leg of someone excited by a kiss to lift off the ground, but with Judar's habits and powers  _ both  _ of his did, leaving him hovering ever so slightly, swept off his feet in a way even if it was something chaste for them.

Alibaba blinked once.

Then twice.

" _ Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?" _

The two parted- well, at the lips, Judar was happy to continue to cling to Hakuryuu possessively to rub it in Alibaba's face.

It was obvious Hakuryuu was a bit embarrassed by the display, a light flush dusting his cheeks as he apologized. "Sorry, Alibaba, it seemed like the only way for you to understand…"

Morgiana nodded. "We may not have ever gotten married if it weren't for Toto and Olba." Alibaba had to have this sort of thing spelled out a lot for him, it seemed.

Alibaba was left feeling like he was drifting formlessly between his beloved and friends, the shock of what he'd just seen and how  _ mean _ everyone was being to him just too much. Loathed as he was to admit it, Judar was right. Now that he had…  _ context _ , there were a lot of things Judar had told him while they had been traveling together for all that time…

_ "At this rate you'll never get your weird muscle woman. Hakuryuu is 10 times the lover you'll ever be, I would know _ . _ " _

_ "Hakuryuu would never let me live like this, of course I'm not used to it!" _

_ "Hakuryuu doesn't need women, he has me." _

_ "That's because Hakuryuu and I actually understand each other, you wouldn't know what that's like." _

_ "Hakuryuu, Hakuryuu, Hakuryuu-" _

There was a time when Alibaba couldn't hear Hakuryuu's name without hearing it in Judar's voice. In hindsight it was…

Pretty obvious, wasn't it.

_ He felt like a fool _ .

Judar cackled at Alibaba's obvious suffering. When he was done with that he grinned up at Hakuryuu with a particularly salacious look. "You know, I wasn't expecting you to jump straight from secrecy to exhibitionism- not that I'm complaining~"

Hakuryuu turned bright pink, from head to toe to rukh. "Judar! You can't just say things like that in front of other people!"

"As my king commands." Though Judar said it with a grin that clearly said that was a temporary state of affairs. He had floated up to the point half of him was upside down now, his feet over both their heads while he pressed their torsos together.

"Get down…" 

Judar pouted. "Aww, but why!?" Despite his complaints he at least reoriented himself so his feet were towards the ground again. Though after he did a look of understanding abruptly crossed his face and he grinned again. "Was it because your face was too close to my-"

" _ Judar! _ "

"Yes, my king?" Judar blinked innocently, or at least as innocently as Judar could manage… which wasn't very.

Before anyone else could comment, once again there was an interruption.

"Wh… WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

This time in the form of one Kougyoku.

She stood at the edge of the courtyard, surveying the damage of large ice crystals sticking out of the ground and craters in the previously intricate pattern of pavers that made the garden paths.

Finally Judar let go of Hakuryuu, though it was only in favor of flying up to Kougyoku to argue.

"What did  _ I _ do!? This is your own fault for spreading rumors you good for nothing hag! You're lucky if your garden getting wrecked is the worst thing I do for trying to turn me against my king by spreading such obvious lies!"

" _ Well if they were so obvious _ \- wait, lies? Does that mean…" Kougyoku paused mid-retaliation to look past Judar to the others. Alibaba and Morgiana were standing together on one side of the wreckage while Hakuryuu was standing politely on the other. None of them were fighting like she and Aladdin had expected, and the damage was all clearly caused by Judar, so…

"Huh!?" What happened??

"Kougyoku! There you are, I've been looking for you all morning!" One Aladdin finally arrived, running up and joining everyone.

"Aladdin…" she began ominously. He was so much more cheery than the day before…

"I have great news! I talked to Morg this morning, this was all just a misunderstanding! She was just helping Hakuryuu with a surprise for his special someone, that's all!"

Aladdin gave the news cheerily despite the tense air. Kougyoku looked like she wanted to just crawl in a hole and hide for the next 100 years, and Judar-

" _ You're way too fucking late pipsqueak! How are you actually this useless without Solomon's wisdom!? _ "

Aladdin blinked up at Judar in the innocent way he did. "Oh, did I miss something?"

" _ Did you-" _ Judar began to sputter, but then just floated out of the way and gestured to the battle field that was previously the courtyard. " _ What do you think!? _ "

Aladdin blinked once, then twice.

"H-huh!???"

From beside them, Kougyoku sniffled. "It's my fault Aladdin. I tried not to say anything like I promised, but I thought it would be okay to tell Judar and-" then she paused, realizing the flaw in her logic as she spoke. "Wait, Judar, why did  _ you _ get so angry? It didn't have anything to do with you…"

" _ Why!? I'm-  _ urk…" Judar cut himself off before he said more than he was supposed to. They told Alibaba, sure, but it was different telling Hakuryuu's family. He looked back at Hakuryuu to silently ask him what to do, holding the comb to his chest again.

Aladdin looked at Judar as well. Morgiana had told him Hakuryuu was getting a gift for his 'special someone' but wouldn't tell him who it was. But then, watching Judar hold something close to his heart while looking back at Hakuryuu, after flying into a rage about the rumor that had accidentally been started, it wasn't hard to figure out…

But it also wasn't his place to say.

"You know how Judar is, Kougyoku!" Aladdin chirped cheerily to give Hakuryuu an out. This was sort of his fault after all…

" _ What's that supposed to mean!? _ " Judar snapped.

"See?" Aladdin said as he gestured toward the former dark Magi. Kougyoku looked like she was about convinced, but then Hakuryuu himself finally approached.

"It's alright, Aladdin," he said simply. His hand pressed to Judar's back gently and the other realised immediately what he was about to do. Judar landed, standing close to his king. He was surprised to say the least, happy, but surprised.

He didn't bother to ask something as pointless as 'are you sure?' Hakuryuu had made up his mind after all.

Hakuryuu looked at Kougyoku with a serious expression and the empress did her best to adopt one in turn.

"Kougyoku, Your Majesty…" he began, trying and only partially failing not to be horribly awkward. He took a deep breath to steel his resolve as she continued to look at him curiously. Finally he looked back to her with determination, the same sort of unwavering look he had given during the civil war years ago, and took Judar's hand.

"Judar is my lover. I realize that even after abdicating I am a prince of the Kou empire and that a relationship between two men in that context is more than just unconventional, but, in this new era of change especially, I have no intentions of backing down or putting him aside for a politically appeasing marriage."

Judar was now clinging and draped around Hakuryuu's arm, grinning with a dangerous glint in his eyes that was  _ daring _ anyone to challenge what Hakuryuu had just declared.

Kougyoku, for a brief moment, looked taken aback, looking at Hakuryuu with minor shock at the intensity of his decree. But again, that lasted only a moment.

"Oh Hakuryuu! I'm so happy for you! You too Judar! Aahh~ You're so cute together!"

The serious, borderline  _ 'I will start another civil war to marry my boyfriend just watch me' _ expression faded completely at Kougyoku's happy outburst. Judar was clinging and floating again.

" _ See _ ! I told you she wouldn't give a shit!"

"But…" Hakuryuu protested weakly, suddenly feeling out of his depth. It really wasn't what he was expecting to happen at all.

Kougyoku giggled. "You're right Hakuryuu, it is an era of change. Kou wouldn't survive very long with such outdated rules while free travel is still allowed. I think it would look pretty bad if our own prince moved off to Reim with our former high priest."

"I… see…" Well, she certainly had a point. They were just… the points he was expecting to have to make. "But what about…"

He didn't finish before Kougyoku brought her sleeve to cover half her face and took on a surprisingly devious look. "Don't worry about Koumei and Kouen. Just leave all of that to me."

Hakuryuu took a moment to process that, but then finally relaxed, a small smile forming as he finally found it easy to lean into Judar next to him. "Thank you."

With that, Judar looked up at Hakuryuu. "So when do we start planning?"

"Hm?"

"You know, for the wedding 'n shit," Judar answered as though it were obvious. Hakuryuu unsurprisingly once again turned pink all the way to his rukh.

"W-wha- Judar-"

Judar was undeterred as ever, ignoring Hakuryuu's embarrassment in favor of holding up the gold comb and examining it again. "You were planning on proposing with this right? I mean, it obviously looks like a bridal ornament. Since Kougyoku gave us her blessing that means it's gonna have to be all complicated and formal and shit right?"

By the time Judar had finished Hakuryuu was looking up at the overhanging roof of the palace walls. This was definitely too embarrassing of a conversation to be having in public, it would have been easier if it was still just Judar saying crude and sexual things… 

It would have also been easier if Judar hadn't been right about the proposal.

"Well… I… was, but..." he stammered awkwardly while continuing to refuse eye contact with anyone. He had something really romantic planned, but then all this happened... He swallowed thickly. "...Please let me propose to you properly at a later time before we talk about that…"

"Ug, fine," Judar complained, but his expression was clearly pleased with the situation.

It seemed like a perfect happy ending.

Until Alibaba spoke up again.

"Now- now hold on!" the blonde began. Everyone turned to him, some with varying degrees of reservation and readiness to argue against what might have been a protest to the most recent revelation. Fortunately, it was nothing like that.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you guys but what the hell caused all of  _ this _ !?" he asked, spreading his arms wide and gesturing to the general destruction that had been caused by Judar's tantrum.

Morgiana held a finger to her chin as she tried to explain. "Well, you came in here crying because of that rumor Hakuryuu and I were having an affair. Judar heard the same thing and became angry. Their anniversary is soon after all."

Hakuryuu gave a nervous chuckle. "Yes, more or less…"

Alibaba huffed. "But then, how did a rumor like that get started in the first place!? It's a pretty hard thing to believe don't you think??"

Kougyoku hid her face behind her sleeve again, avoiding eye contact with the group. "I'm sorry. I saw the two of them alone, and I had been so paranoid about it after what Aladdin had told me…"

It was at this point all eyes turned to Aladdin, who was currently trying to sneak away in a fashion he had clearly picked up from Alibaba.

Judar was on him in seconds. " _ What sort of bullshit were you spewing about Hakuryuu you shitty little brat!? _ "

"It was just an honest mistake, you know! It wasn't like I was trying to start a rumor!"

"But you were trying to run away from the fallout," Kougyoku pointed out slyly. Aladdin shrunk back at the accusation he couldn't exactly deny.

"But why would you think something like that Aladdin?" Morgiana asked less accusingly.

It was hard to answer with Judar literally hovering over him with a glare like that, but he managed. "Well every time we talked lately Hakuryuu's rukh would turn all pink when he talked with Morg!"

Kougyoku nodded. "That's what he told me, I went with him to check too and I have to admit it did look pretty suspicious…"

"But that was just because I was the one helping him with his plans for Judar. I see…" Morgiana concluded. Of course, when asked about his plans Hakuryuu would look at Morgiana knowingly and blush a little, because she was the only one who knew, not because they were actually about her… Everyone in the group realized it, much to Hakuryuu's embarrassment, but at least the mystery was solved.

"And so since you put that stupid idea in the hag's head when she saw them having a perfectly normal fucking conversation she flipped out and then told me a bunch of bullshit. Unbelievable," Judar added. At least after that he floated back to Hakuryuu for the time being. "You are pretty cute when your rukh blushes like that though. It happens all the time, I bet you didn't even realize," he teased with a grin.

"Judar,  _ please. _ "

Aladdin piped up this time. "But wait, then how did Alibaba hear about it…?"

Alibaba huffed. "I heard it from the staff! It had gotten spread so much I thought it had to be true…!" he said with teary eyes. 

Aladdin frowned. "But how did  _ they _ hear it!?" He looked at Kougyoku, who started.

"The only person I told was Judar!"

And then everyone looked at Judar, who looked up as he tried to recall what had happened just an hour or so ago. "I mean, I was pretty pissed off. I probably shouted some things on my way here. It's not my fault people overheard," he said with a shrug.

Alibaba made a sour face. "So in the end it was just your fault after all…"

"Wanna say that again, asshole!? It all started because of your own shitty Magi!" Judar shouted back. At least Hakuryuu stopped him from charging at someone this time.

Hakuryuu cleared his throat. "Well, at least we have that all sorted out now." Really he just wanted to bring things to an end so he and Judar could leave before people could start fussing over them.

Unfortunately it seemed he was a little too slow. "You're right, there are happier things to focus on now! I'm so glad you finally found someone Hakuryuu." And maybe Alibaba was just latching onto the subject change so Judar would stop yelling at him and Aladdin, so sue him.

Judar snorted. "Yeah 'finally'," he said sarcastically. Alibaba ignored this.

"I meant what I said earlier. Judar, you should make sure he doesn't work too hard! He needs to relax every now and then."

"Alibaba-" Hakuryuu tried to interject, but Judar cut in, draping his arms around Hakuryuu's neck from where he was now floating behind him and resting his chin on the other man's head. "Oh don't worry, I make sure my king gets  _ plenty _ of  _ relaxation. _ " It was said with an obvious dirty grin and Hakuryuu just blushed again, hiding his face in his hand this time.

Alibaba pouted, unimpressed by the insinuation and determined not to 'lose'... whatever this was, now. But it was clearly a competition. " _ Well _ , since I've been  _ married _ for so long to my wonderful Morgiana I'm sure I can give you all the relationship advice you need!" he tried to brag.

This time both Judar and Hakuryuu gave Alibaba an incredulous look, with the latter quickly adopting the  _ I can djinn equip and you can't _ expression once more. " _ Really. Is that so? And yet you seem to need help with so many things…" _ he teased back ominously.

Alibaba was about to protest, but Judar cut in with a much blunter statement. "You realize we were fucking before you'd even kissed a woman, right Blondy?" He said it boredly almost, though he grinned the moment he saw poor Alibaba's reaction. It was a truly critical blow to the man's pride.

Unfortunately it came at the expense of being a critical blow to Hakuryuu's modesty as well. " _ Judar! _ " he snapped, this time in a more  _ you actually crossed a line _ than cute embarrassed way. He looked nervously at his cousin and step-sister, who was equally mortified.

" _ I don't want to hear anything about my family's sex life! _ " she snapped before storming off. It sounded like this was not the first time something like this had happened. Probably Kouha's fault…

Hakuryuu glared at Judar again, who actually shrunk back this time. "H-hey! It wasn't like it was on purpose! The half-dead unicorn was the one who started it!" he protested, pointing at Alibaba. All it really accomplished was Hakuryuu glaring at both of them, rather than at one instead of the other.

"Wha- I just said  _ relationship _ advice! I didn't say anything crass, that was him!" Alibaba argued back. 

Hakuryuu clicked his tongue unimpressed, pulling Judar off him and walking away from the whole group. Judar panicked, following after him. 

"Hey! Hakuryuu, wait! I won't do it again- it's not like I was trying to brag about how good you are in bed just-"

" _ Judar! _ " Hakuryuu snapped again as the former Magi managed to do the thing he had just promised he wouldn't. 

"Oh-  _ shit!  _ Er- at least this time it was just your idiot friends around?" Judar tried to reason. He didn't  _ say _ sorry, but at least his expression was apologetic.

Hakuryuu gave him a stern look, leaning in and speaking in a low voice so no one else could hear.

"If you do it again, you're sleeping by yourself tonight."

"What!? No fair! Hakuryuuuu!!" he whined back, but Hakuryuu didn't budge an inch. Finally Judar floated back down to eye level, sulking.

"As… my king commands…" he finally agreed. Hakuryuu relaxed a bit after that, and as Judar looked down at the comb he was still carrying he chanced asking, "...you're still going to brush my hair though, right?"

Hakuryuu's expression softened to a smile. "Yeah."

And with just that Judar perked right back up, grinning and back to clinging to Hakuryuu's arm. They started walking off as though they had forgotten the others were there- Judar had, Hakuryuu was just happy to use the excuse to avoid more awkward questions while everyone was still too excited.

The other three watched them go. Alibaba was still pouting, but Morgiana and Aladdin were in high spirits.

"They look really happy together!" Aladdin beamed.

He watched as once again Hakuryuu's rukh glowed a soft pink, the only way he could tell Hakuryuu's handful of black ones apart from the mass swarming around Judar. Judar's rukh didn't blush, but it chirped and buzzed with boundless energy and excitement, moving so rapidly it almost looked like smoke.

Morgiana nodded. "Yes, I'm sure they are."


End file.
